Editing Leonard Part 6

{{Short description|1987 film by Paul Weiland}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}

{{Infobox film
| image          = Leonard part six ver2.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Paul Weiland]]
| screenplay     = [[Jonathan Reynolds (writer)|Jonathan Reynolds]]
| story          = [[Bill Cosby]]
| producer       = Bill Cosby
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* Bill Cosby
* [[Tom Courtenay]]
* [[Joe Don Baker]]
}}
| cinematography = [[Jan de Bont]]
| editing        = [[Gerry Hambling]]
| music          = [[Elmer Bernstein]]
| distributor    = [[Columbia Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|1987|12|18|U.S.}}
| runtime        = 85 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $24 million<ref name=ColumbiaPicturesBook>Dick, Bernard F. (1992) "Columbia Pictures: Portrait of a Studio" (p. 46). [[University Press of Kentucky]]. {{ISBN|0-8131-1769-0}}. Retrieved on November 28, 2010.</ref>
| gross          = $4.6 million
}}

'''''Leonard Part 6''''' (also known as '''''Leonard Part VI''''') is a 1987 American [[spy film|spy]] [[parody film]]. It was directed by [[Paul Weiland]] and starred [[Bill Cosby]], who also produced the film and wrote its story. The film also starred [[Gloria Foster]] as the villain, and [[Joe Don Baker]]. The film was shot in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]]. It earned several [[Golden Raspberry Awards]];  Cosby himself denounced and disowned it in the press in the weeks leading up to its release.

The film received universally negative reviews from critics and has often been considered to be [[List of films considered the worst#Leonard Part 6 (1987)|one of the worst films ever made]]. It was also a [[box-office bomb]], earning just over $4.6 million on a $24 million budget.

==Plot==
Bill Cosby plays Leonard Parker, a retired [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] spy who now operates a restaurant. According to the opening sequence of the film, the title refers to the idea that this film is actually the sixth installment of a series of films featuring the adventures of Leonard with parts one through five concealed in the interest of world security. In reality, no Leonard films precede this one.

The theatrical release poster points out that Leonard Parker is, at the time of his reluctant return to action, coping with domestic issues:

{{blockquote|His daughter is engaged to a man old enough to be his father.

His estranged wife behaves like she is younger than their daughter.

And now his government has asked him to save the world. Again.}}

The film starts with Parker being called out of retirement by his CIA director Snyderburn (Baker) to save the world from evil [[vegetarianism|vegetarian]] Medusa Johnson (Foster), who brainwashes animals to kill people. During the film, he infiltrates the International Tuna factory (Medusa Johnson's hideout), fights vegetarians dressed in bird costumes and "horny" bees, and successfully steals her mind control device. However, Medusa kidnaps Leonard's wife and blackmails the CIA into returning the device to her. Leonard then enlists laboratory rabbits to attack other CIA agents in an effort to regain the mind control device. Leonard again infiltrates Johnson's headquarters to rescue his wife, Alison, but is captured and tortured by lobsters, but uses their claws to remove their restraints. Freed from the cell, he attacks Medusa's henchmen with "magic meat" he acquired from a [[Romani people|Gypsy]], while Alison frees the captive animals, and destroys the base using [[Alka-Seltzer]] in the animal control chemical vats. He escapes by riding an ostrich across the roof and, despite ostriches being flightless birds, he is flown to the ground by the animal. The movie ends with Leonard and Alison celebrating their reconciliation in his restaurant.

==Cast==
* [[Bill Cosby]] as Leonard Parker
* [[Tom Courtenay]] as Frayn
* [[Joe Don Baker]] as Nick Snyderburn
* [[Moses Gunn]] as Giorgio Francozzi
* [[Gloria Foster]] as Medusa Johnson
* Pat Colbert as Allison Parker
* [[Victoria Rowell]] as Joan Parker
* [[John Hostetter]] as Adams

==Production==
Cosby says he got the idea for the film from watching ''Rambo''. He said he thought to himself "Man, there's got to be a place for a hero who has to deal with a heavy who's got a bigger gun than he has." Cosby described the lead as a "high-tech comic-book character." He said, "I've put stuff in here for the women, I've put stuff in here for the kids."<ref>Bill Cosby makes the most of 50: [CITY Edition]
Waters, Harry F. ''[[St. Petersburg Times]]'' September 22, 1987: 1D.</ref>

Asked years later about his work on the film, director [[Paul Weiland]] recalled:

{{blockquote|It was a terrible mistake. ... When anyone gets into that position (Bill Cosby's position of power in the 1980s), they are surrounded by [[Sycophancy|sycophants]] and no one tells them the truth. But Cosby just wasn't funny. I couldn't tell him directly. I'd say it feels slow, and he'd say, 'You worry about construction, let me worry about funny.'<ref>{{cite news|first=Simon |last=Hattenstone|title=Through slick and thin Paul Weiland, adman turned Hollywood film-maker, talks about stars, egos and his latest movie, City Slickers II|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=1994-09-22}}</ref>}}

==Reception==
The movie received overwhelming negative reviews.<ref>
{{cite news|title=Cosby's 'Leonard' a Super-Inane Superspy|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=December 18, 1987|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-18-ca-19771-story.html|access-date=December 12, 2010|first=Kevin|last=Thomas|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709120346/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-12-18/entertainment/ca-19771_1|archive-date=July 9, 2012|url-status=live}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite news|title=Confessions of a Film Masochist: Nothing Explains 'Leonard Part 6'-That's Why It's Fun|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 24, 1988|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-01-24-ca-38089-story.html|access-date=November 9, 2010|first=Chris|last=Willman|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103145643/http://articles.latimes.com/1988-01-24/entertainment/ca-38089_1_leonard-part|archive-date=November 3, 2012|url-status=live}}
</ref> When the film was released in 1987, even Cosby himself said that he was so disappointed with it that he publicly advised people not to waste their money on it.<ref name=LATimes>
{{cite news|title=Leonard RIP?|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 20, 1987|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-20-ca-29856-story.html|access-date=December 26, 2010|first=Pat H.|last=Broeske|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119151239/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-12-20/entertainment/ca-29856_1_leonard-part|archive-date=January 19, 2012|url-status=live}}
</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] called it "one of the worst movies of the year" and strongly criticized the obvious [[Coca-Cola]] product placement in one of the film's close-up scenes, saying that Cosby "ought to be ashamed of himself."<ref>''[[At the Movies (1986 TV program)|Siskel & Ebert]]''. December 26, 1987.</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] gave the film zero stars out of four, calling it "The year's worst film involving a major star. That's right, it's worse than ''[[Ishtar (film)|Ishtar]]''."<ref>[[Gene Siskel|Siskel, Gene]] (December 23, 1987). "Siskel's Flicks Picks". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 8, page I.</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' declared, "Bill Cosby is right to be embarrassed by this dud, but the result really can't have come as a total surprise to him since he wrote the story and produced it."<ref>"Film Reviews: Leonard Part 6". ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''. December 16, 1987. 11.</ref> [[Caryn James]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote: "Mr. Cosby and the director, Paul Weiland, were reportedly at odds while filming ''Leonard Part 6''&nbsp;... but there's plenty of blame for them to share. Mr. Weiland's direction, Mr. Cosby's story and Jonathan Reynolds's screenplay seem equally trite."<ref>
{{cite news|first=Caryn |last=James|title=Film: Bill Cosby's 'Leonard Part 6'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/18/movies/film-bill-cosby-s-leonard-part-6.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 18, 1987|access-date=February 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910174201/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/18/movies/film-bill-cosby-s-leonard-part-6.html|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Kevin Thomas]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote: "''Leonard Part 6'' is a smug, tedious exercise in self-indulgence ... There's virtually nothing to laugh at in this film, and too much of everything else." Thomas noted that, although Weiland was the director, "clearly Cosby, as star, producer and idea man, is the ''auteur'' here."<ref name=Leonard>
{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-18-ca-19771-story.html|first=Kevin |last=Thomas|title=Cosby's 'Leonard' a Super-Inane Superspy|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 18, 1987|access-date=July 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104073709/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-12-18/entertainment/ca-19771_1_2nd-unit|archive-date=November 4, 2012|url-status=live}}
</ref> Rita Kempley of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' stated: "Cosby looks woebegone all movie long. He knows he's out of his element, a comedian of words in a physical role."<ref>Kempley, Rita (December 19, 1987). "Cosby, Lost With 'Leonard'". ''[[The Washington Post]]''. D6.</ref> Robert Garrett wrote in ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', "This Christmas turkey is so dreadful that it must be in the same league as [[Paul Newman]]'s ''[[The Silver Chalice (film)|The Silver Chalice]]'' for its power to embarrass its star."<ref>Garrett, Robert (December 18, 1987). "'Leonard 6' leaves Cosby with egg on his face". ''[[The Boston Globe]]''. p. 97.</ref>

As of June 2022, ''Leonard Part 6'' had a 7% rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 15 reviews with an average rating of 3.5/10.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leonard-part-6|title=Leonard Part 6 (1987)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=August 16, 2021}}</ref>

===Box office===
The movie was a [[box-office bomb|box office flop]]. It grossed only $4,615,255<ref>
{{cite news|title=Laughing Their Way to Bank Hollywood Accounts Swell From 'Baby' and 'Momma'|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 6, 1988|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-01-06-ca-22861-story.html|access-date=December 8, 2010|first=Jack|last=Mathews|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120701175323/http://articles.latimes.com/1988-01-06/entertainment/ca-22861_1/3|archive-date=July 1, 2012|url-status=live}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite news|title=Weekend Box Office|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 22, 1987|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-22-ca-30480-story.html|access-date=December 26, 2010|first=Jack|last=Mathews|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707113507/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-12-22/entertainment/ca-30480_1|archive-date=July 7, 2012|url-status=live}}
</ref>—a mere fraction of its $24 million budget.<ref name=ColumbiaPicturesBook/>

===Accolades===
The movie won three [[8th Golden Raspberry Awards|Golden Raspberry Awards]], for Worst Actor (Cosby), Worst Picture, and Worst Screenplay (Jonathan Reynolds and Cosby). It was nominated for two more Razzie Awards, for Worst Supporting Actress (Foster) and Worst Director (Weiland). A few weeks after the ceremony, Cosby accepted his three Razzies on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]'s ''[[The Late Show (1986 talk show)|The Late Show]].'' He demanded that the three Razzies he earned be specifically made out of 24 karat (99.99%) gold and Italian marble, which were later paid for by Fox. Cosby later brought the awards with him when he was a guest on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]],'' happily displaying them and proclaiming, "I swept the awards!"<ref>
{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1in0hor24uU |title=Razzie® Award Reel – YouTube<!-- Bot generated title --> |website=[[YouTube]] |date=January 13, 2011 |access-date=November 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429202934/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1in0hor24uU |archive-date=April 29, 2016 |url-status=live}}
</ref> For the 2005 Razzies, the movie earned a nomination in the "Worst 'Comedy' of Our First 25 Years" category, losing to ''[[Gigli]]''.

It was also nominated for Worst Picture at the [[1987 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards]].

===Home media===
''Leonard Part 6'' was released by [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment]]  on DVD, on April 26, 2005.<ref>
{{cite news|title= Leonard Part 6|work= [[DVD Talk]]|url= https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/15632/leonard-part-6/|access-date= May 17, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121106000452/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/15632/leonard-part-6/|archive-date= November 6, 2012|url-status= live}}
</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of films considered the worst]]

 {{Portal|Film}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0093405|title=Leonard Part 6}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|leonard-part-6|Leonard Part 6}}
* {{Mojo title|leonardpart6|Leonard Part 6}}
{{S-start}} {{S-ach|aw}}
{{Succession box
| title=[[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture]]
| years=[[8th Golden Raspberry Awards]]
| before=''[[Under the Cherry Moon]]'' and ''[[Howard the Duck (film)|Howard the Duck]]''
| after=''[[Cocktail (1988 film)|Cocktail]]''
}}
{{end}}

{{Paul Weiland}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for ''Leonard Part 6''
|list =
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor}}
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture}}
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay}}
}}

[[Category:1987 films]]
[[Category:American parody films]]
[[Category:American spy comedy films]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Elmer Bernstein]]
[[Category:Films about the Central Intelligence Agency]]
[[Category:Films directed by Paul Weiland]]
[[Category:1980s spy comedy films]]
[[Category:African-American comedy films]]
[[Category:Films shot in San Francisco]]
[[Category:1980s parody films]]
[[Category:1987 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:1987 comedy films]]
[[Category:Golden Raspberry Award–winning films]]
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:English-language spy comedy films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Jonathan Reynolds (writer)]]